“Uncle, nobody has ever leveraged the company’s shares. Furthermore, how do we estimate this valuation? This isn’t appropriate. Owning the shares won’t be of any use to us either.”
Jordan and Hayes both agreed with Hector’s words.
Sebastian turned around immediately and glared at Hector. “Hector Combe, have you gone mad? How can you speak for them at a time like this?!” He asked in infuriation.
“Uncle, that was basic reasoning. I’m not taking sides here,” Hector said calmly.
Sebastian gritted his teeth and tried his best to suppress his anger. “In that case, lend me a few million dollars for this emergency,” he said.
Hector’s expression remained calm and collected. “Uncle, I don’t have that much money. I can’t withdraw a few million dollars for you to lose it all. You should think about how to handle your upcoming problems,” he said.
No matter how incoherent Sebastian’s thoughts were, there was no way that he would not finally realize that something was not right.
The three people seated at the gambling table, and Hector in particular, were acting exceptionally odd right now.
Taking in a deep breath, Sebastian suppressed the uneasiness in his heart. “What do you mean?” He asked in a low voice.
He could not believe that Hector was bold enough to team up with an outsider just to go against him.
He was going against his father, Hendrik, by doing so.
“What do I mean?” Hector laughed. He took out a small black box from the portable air conditioner in the room and turned off a switch on it.
“I have blocked everyone’s mobile phone signal in order to allow us to play cards in silence. Excuse me for pulling this small trick.
“Uncle, take a look at your phone at once. A lot of people should be looking for you right now.”
The uneasiness in Sebastian’s heart continued to grow. Just as he was about to say something, his phone rang loudly, as if on cue.
The caller was a close associate of his from the company. Without thinking much, Sebastian picked up the call.
“Chairman Walker, where did you go? The company is in a total mess. I have been calling you for four hours straight, but you didn’t pick up your phone!”
Sebastian spoke in a low, authoritative tone after listening to the anxious voice on the other end of the phone. “What is all the panic about? Tell me what happened immediately!”
“We’re done for, Chairman. All the private loan companies that we borrowed money from suddenly came over to ask for their payment. However, the company’s account doesn’t have your signature, so we couldn’t withdraw the money. Moreover, the finance department told us that the funds in the account kept declining. There are only a few hundred thousand dollars left in the account.”
Sebastian felt like he had been struck by lightning. He had turned all of the funds in the company account into cheques and had gambled it all away. The money was gone now.
However, the oddest thing was that the debts he owed the private loan companies had not yet expired. Why were they collecting the debts now?
“Aren’t the debts due in a few months’ time?” Sebastian asked, his throat dry. It felt like dark clouds were looming above his head, coming together to form a net that he could not escape from. The net was about to fall on him and consume him whole in the very next moment.
“I don’t know. They are disregarding the interest and demanding us to repay the principal right now. Since we couldn’t find you, they went to the supermarket to spread the news.”
“A dozen of employees are in charge of each supermarket. There are still dozens of people at the company headquarters. The incoming calls are about to blow up my phone!”
Cold sweat beaded Sebastian’s forehead as he listened to the news.
While his palms heated up, a chilling sensation washed over his head.
Sebastian hung up on the call while ignoring his close associate’s dire pleas for help.
He fixed a stony gaze upon Hector. “Hector Combe, what is going on right now?!”
Hector ignored Sebastian, who was on the verge of exploding from rage, and walked toward the door. He opened it straight away.
Sebastian’s gaze veered past the door and landed on the sofa in the villa. Jacob Combe, who was seated on the sofa, was having a cup of tea with a young man in a courteous manner.
